


Little Rascals

by Sprinkledgalaxies



Series: Outside A Galaxy Of My Own [3]
Category: Pikmin (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, IF YOU’RE NOT GONNA LET HIM GO HOME AT LEAST LET HIM HAVE FUN, Who will win, dadimar, listen just let this man smile nintendo, olimar vs the pikmin, warning for toothachingly adorableness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:00:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29396607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sprinkledgalaxies/pseuds/Sprinkledgalaxies
Summary: Olimar always knew his beloved pikmin were merciless, but he never could have imagined his loyal comrades, friends and family would turn on him in such a cruel manner, and under the warm sun of the day the father quickly finds himself fighting for his life!
Series: Outside A Galaxy Of My Own [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2047208
Kudos: 11





	Little Rascals

Dreams of warm sunshine and of loving faces had the father awaken in tears that morning as he sat up in his cot, unenthusiastic to greet the day.

Of course, these dreams visited him every single night; haunting giggles from his children that resonated along with her ruby lips on his. Images before him that would leave his pillow suffering the brunt of the emotions, but usually by morning he could push the ache away.

Some days however were far harder than most, when the memories only seemed to consume him if anything. Incapacitate him, make it so difficult to get anything done. Louie never seemed to have these days, where homesickness was just too much to bear...in fact he hardly seemed to miss his family...but then again Olimar had his own unsettling theories as to why that might be the case. 

It was decided that day would be spent building their numbers, field reports, and harvesting for more berry sprays. It was the safest bet with one of the prime members of their unit in such a state.

...But Olimar discovered even the piklopedia was all but impossible to do. His mind was blank and too many tears fell on the digital pad. He finally needed to put it away to minimize the risk of water damage.

Louie had most of their squad, nearby somewhere harvesting posies. Olimar only had three pikmin with him. The inquisitive little leaf children had watched him sadly type and sketch away, until he threw down the pencil as well in frustration and wrapped his arms around his knees.

This was truly a disturbing sight to the pikmin. They were so accustomed to the bright smiling face that always gazed at them with adoration. Their leader radiated confidence and was the pillar of strength…

They didn’t know what to do.

The three exchanged sad and concerned gazes as they hopped up on the log Olimar was sitting on. A blue picked up the pad and pencil he’d thrown to the ground and offered it but Olimar waved them off.

“No, I...I can’t concentrate right now on that. Just not having a good day.” He didn’t know why he was telling them that, it wasn’t as if the kids could understand him… The three pikmin exchanged sad looks and drew closer to him, figuring perhaps offering some comfort might help.

Olimar froze rigid when he felt a little nuzzle against his side from the yellow pikmin. He felt his chest tighten but it wasn’t with the urge to start crying again. No...it was the complete opposite in fact.

The first little nuzzle definitely had...an effect on him. It was completely unexpected and that was probably one of the reasons it made the man jump slightly, as he felt those large ears brush against a suit far too thin to keep him from feeling it!

Olimar scooted away slightly when he realized his pikmin were looking at him with curiosity. “Oh, I’m fine,” he dismissed. “You really don’t need to do that.” Sweat on his brow, he hoped that would be the end of it. But...unfortunately, the pikmin were ever perceptive when they wanted to be. Olimar could already tell his blasted reaction was not going to leave them without questions...that he’d be unable to understand, or answer. And that terrified him all the more…

The captain pretended to focus on something else, his gloved fingers twiddling anxiously as he put just a little more distance between himself and the three pikmin. He caught their gaze in the corner of his eye and it honestly felt extremely threatening at the moment.

“Alright,” the Hocotation quickly continued, trying to keep the panic out of his voice as he nonchalantly stretched. Big mistake. “We should see if…” And that’s when the same yellow pikmin reached out and poked him in the side.

He nearly fell off the log.

“Ack!” Catching his footing again, Olimar backed up a step instantly. Unfortunately, the little devils just followed him. He waved his hands, unable to keep from nervously grinning. “I said I’m okay! Y-you don’t need to do that!”

A red pikmin chirped curiously as he nuzzled his stomach, and his nose poked against him. This time the captain actually let off the smallest, surprised giggle. And...when he saw the look on his pikmin’s face, the Hocotation knew he was doomed.

Olimar cleared his throat to disguise the slight snicker, but it wasn’t enough. His curious little plant creatures seemed to pick up on the stifled noise. The yellow one certainly had at least with those blasted ears and chittered amongst his siblings. Although Olimar never knew what the cute little noises meant...he was especially nervous that he didn’t know now.

After a moment of contemplation the red pikmin nuzzled his side again and it made him inhale with a barely suppressed squeak. However when the Hocotation felt curious baby fingers poke at his belly the first _loud_ giggle escaped. Olimar’s eyes, always so calmly lidded, popped wide open. He swore he felt his blood freeze...and heard the gears in the little plants’ heads turning.

“Wait…” Oh no. 

The chitters amongst them sounded more amused and excited as Olimar felt another poke, and then another. He let out more stifled giggles and tried to pull away from their inquisitive little hands. “H-hey!” 

Did they realize what they were doing, or did they just find his squeals to be hilarious to them? He had to imagine it was the latter because the few pikmin were giggling as well as they could without visible mouths. Their little eyes crinkled with sheer delight and the poking turned to wiggling their little fingers. How did they know what to do?! 

“Ahh-no!” It was taking everything he had not to burst into loud laughter when he felt the horrific shock his nerves sent him, but Olimar feared if he broke entirely the dastardly little things would just straight up destroy him. He was so deathly ticklish, it was horrible. His kids and wife loved to tease him with it, to the point where it was nearly a daily thing. He never started tickle fights with his family because they would absolutely decimate him with it! Failure to wake up when his family wanted him to often lead to his howls of laughter filling the room when they decided they were tired of waiting! 

Attempting to scramble backwards from the little plant children, Olimar only now caught the look in their eyes. Their faces were crinkled with amusement and fondness. A smile formed. 

“Are you three trying to cheer me up?” 

The happy little pikmin chittered as they exchanged glances with each other and then immediately began running eagerly to him with wiggling little fingers. Blasted little things caught on fast, didn’t they?! His eyes widening, Olimar yelped and jumped to his feet. He bolted, with the laughing little plant children in hot pursuit. 

“Wait, wait, hold on a second!” Olimar practically squealed as he ran circles around the clearing. With the grassy terrain being absent of any water he didn’t have to concern himself with the pikmin slipping and drowning. Even the area they had chosen to land in was secluded off from predators, giving the group freedom to just play and relax, and for once not worry about the perils of the land. 

The whole scene, it felt so reminiscent when he played with his children, dashing desperately around to avoid the same fate and already laughing before they reached him. These devilish little creatures were just as determined as his kids to turn him into a giggly puddle! Well he wasn’t going to make this easy for them! 

“Oh is that how it is? I’m not going to just lay there and take it!” he shouted back with a playful boldness of his own. He felt inexplicably riveted for this challenge for some reason, and frankly terrified not to emerge victorious knowing what a grisly fate awaited him. 

The pikmin all stood in pre-pouncing positions, and the little red one straightened confidently. Its face seemed to crinkle, a smirk without a real mouth. 

_”Ebee mee! Neemee!"_ it proudly declared. ...Whatever that meant. Olimar had to imagine it was some sort of challenge and he laughed. 

“Think you can scare me, huh? All the monsters we’ve fought and you think banning together and taking me down in such a juvenile match frightens me? ….Well you’d be right actually.” He knew how merciless pikmin were...and they were choosing a weakness that was absolutely his achilles heel! 

He shouldn’t be doing this, he knew he shouldn’t be doing this. There was no time left in the day to scavenge, but he should at least be writing a report or doing something productive. 

The last thing Olimar wanted was to get attached to these little critters. From day one he told himself he had a job to do and couldn’t afford to bond too strongly with the pikmin. Not only would it compromise his mission, it would make things all the more painful when they inevitably perished. Yet...as the days went on, helping each other co-exist and getting to know the little creatures his walls were beginning to crumble and try as he might, he just couldn’t defend them. 

Oh hell who was he kidding? His walls had long since crumbled. It had been a losing battle the first time he was on PNF 404, and it certainly wasn’t made any easier the second time. Especially as he heard their delighted giggles, so much like his own children, as they kept up the chase. 

“I’m not going to be easy prey to catch!” he told the little group. It was in that exact moment fate reared its head and a rock sent him tumbling to the ground. Oh of course! As always this damn planet was his downfall. 

The three pikmin wasted no time in leaping on him and Olimar had no attempts at holding back his laughter this time as they tickled in earnest. He squirmed uselessly, giggling and squealing and trying to keep from losing it entirely and alerting the rest of the group. Or stars forbid Louie find him like this! That’d be even worse and Olimar was quite certain his young charge would never take him seriously as a mentor or let him live this down. 

“Wahahait, don’t!” he managed through a giggle fit, squirming under their ruthless assault. Their little hands poked and scribbled, accompanied with far more rapid and vicious nuzzles to his belly. Those had to be the worst of the attack, and the poking red nose only served as a double assault. Olimar bit back a shriek when he felt the yellow pikmin’s tiny inquisitive fingers drift higher up underneath his arms. It had always been a weak spot. “Nohoho!” 

The group only giggled again and Olimar, careful he wouldn’t crush any pikmin, rolled out of the surprised group's grip. He knew if he really wanted this completely unfair tickle fight to end he could whistle at them, but for some reason he hadn’t. Perhaps he also realized this was the first time he’d had fun in...there was no counting the days by this point. 

Olimar veered right, passed a large stalk of flowers, where he intended to hide until it was safe, and that’s when a group of ten pikmin poked their head through, carrying one of their large pellets. 

After the Onion had processed and immediately churned out a few seeds, the pikmin seemed to be communicating with the small group of three, and Olimar felt the danger when the thirteen eyes targeted him. 

“N-now hold on,” Olimar stammered as he slowly backed up from the intimidating group. He felt like he was being hunted, and his heart nearly stopped when all eyes narrowed playfully on him. These little critters he considered to be so adorable had never looked so sinister… The stalks on their heads seemed to vibrate in excitement. 

“Let’s not be hasty!” 

It was useless ultimately. Olimar was sent on a _much_ more panicked run this time as his group eagerly gave chase like a dog on a squirrel! He was beginning to realize that yes, pikmin definitely knew what tickling was! They were far too skilled at this to not. It certainly wasn’t far fetched given that the father had watched the little plant children play amongst themselves in the rare down time they did have. 

He veered left and right, skidding out of the pouncing range of several that all tried to trip him and latch onto his boots. Narrowly he just barely dodged several grabs and jumped out of reach of another red pikmin attempting to catch him from the back. 

This was...fun! A lot of fun actually. It had been so long since Olimar had been given the indulgence to actually relax and let loose. Longer still, sadly, that he’d been engaged in a duel where the odds not ending in his favor didn’t result in horrific death. ….He hoped. 

“Child’s play!” he boasted, and perhaps too early as he found himself staggering from the weight of a yellow jumping onto his back. Olimar caught the little thing by the wrist and slammed the pikmin onto the ground in front of him. It stared at him, bewildered. 

The captain smirked down at the stunned pikmin. “I've been commanding you and your brethren for months now, do you really think I don’t know your tricks?” 

Several pikmin, ones not initially part of the ambush, had menacingly poked their little heads out of the flowers and Olimar felt his anxiety rise. 

“Wha—where’d you all come from?” he squeaked, quickly finding himself vastly outnumbered by his squad. The pikmin chittered mischievously and dashed forward, causing the other to bolt. Now knowing there were far more assailants on his hide than he initially thought, Olimar was desperately searching for an escape. 

He couldn’t go in the ship! They’d follow him and he’d have effectively trapped himself backed into a corner of his room. 

Spotting a tall blade of grass that led up to a ledge he could climb, Olimar made a leap for it. He succeeded in snatching the stalk, but...so did a yellow that jumped up and clung. To him. 

“Hey!” Olimar yelped, trying to shake the giggling, amused little plant off. The pikmin scaled up his back and eagerly darted its fingers under the captain’s arms. Olimar shrieked and burst into immediate laughter, He couldn’t yank down his arms and quickly found his laughter draining him of the needed strength to get away from the little demon. Pikmin were waiting eagerly at the bottom for their prey as the horrified man found himself slipping! 

“Tha-that’s not fair!” he whined as he felt his hands lose traction on the slick stalk. “You’re cheating!” Regardless, his body slipped more and more until it finally fell down, his desperately scrambling hands not enough to save him from a fate worse than death. 

Still even as the energy was leaving him, Olimar refused to succumb to such a nightmarish fate willingly! He’d fight to the bitter end against his squad! And definitely had a feeling that’s what it was coming down to. 

“How are you all not tired after today?” Did these little sprouts ever run out of energy? Or did they just stay always ready to spring as long as the sun was up? 

“Okay I’m cheered up! I’m cheered up! It doesn’t have to be like this!” His voice had reached a hilarious pitch and was nearly a squeak at this point. 

He was sure he found a safe place to rest when he spotted the hollow of a log nearby, but in the end wound up almost skidding into a group of multiple pikmin stalking out of the entrance. The menacing glint in their eyes was nothing short of terrifying to be honest. 

_Stars…_ He backed up and realized too late he had made the wrong choice as he found himself within a circle of pikmin. And a circle that was closing in on him, at that. The panicked grin widened as the anxious butterflies in his stomach fluttered in alarm. 

“W-wait how are there nineteen of you now?!” _WHERE DO THEY KEEP COMING FROM??_

Was this how all the monsters felt when he called the pikmin onto them? He almost felt the need to apologize. 

“Easy...come on…!” He whipped his head around desperately but there were no openings and he didn’t think he’d be fast enough to jump over them. Definitely not the whites. The group was beginning to slowly stalk, their menacing kill circle becoming smaller. Eyes narrowed playfully, tiny claws wiggling menacingly, his final seconds alive were dwindling. 

“Can’t we just be civil? Can’t you see reason?” He tried to backpedal away, but nearly tripped into the closing circle. There was absolutely no escape. Well, realistically there was. His whistle, which he hadn’t made any inclination he wanted to use in the past fifteen minutes. That was enough proof to the pikmin he didn’t actually want to avoid what was coming, and he needed it. 

Space Dad was going to laugh and smile whether he wanted to or not! 

He was so engaged in this impromptu game with the devious little leaf children that Olimar didn’t see the grass rustling as the rest of their team finally arrived at base. The pikmin’s gazes diverting briefly, the captain made a final last effort of escape and went to leap into the air. Instantly he found his leg snagged by two little white pikmin—and he was promptly slammed back into the earth by a purple. 

Louie emerged from the grass, just in time to hear his boss give a choked cry of ‘no!’, which garbled into a scream as a circle of a _minimum_ of at least twenty pikmin utterly ambushed the man. 

“OLIMAR!” Louie shouted in alarm. He bolted over to the Captain, about to try and pry the little monsters _off—what’s going on? Was there a puffstool?!_ —only to freeze when he actually approached the chaos. 

Like they were ravaging a bulborb the pikmin absolutely swarmed the defenseless Captain. However, instead of the agonizing cries of death their attacks invoked from their victims, there were screams of laughter. Poor Olimar could barely be seen through the moving, nuzzling, tickling blobs of a happy rainbow. 

_It finally happened, the pikmin turned on me!_ And in the most horrible and yet adorable way possible. Seeing how effective nuzzling proved to render the poor man incoherent the pikmin focused on that, like a group of playful puppies. Dozens of their tiny fingers poked and probed at him in addition, anywhere they could reach. 

Louie just….stared, unsure of what the hell he was supposed to do. This was so unprecedented that the younger man found himself rather baffled. He blinked, mouth opening to say something and closing again. He had no idea if he was supposed to be disturbed or amused, but found himself leaning more to the latter. 

This was _hysterical._

The younger Hocotation leaned against the ship and found himself smirking, his own mind reeling with very dark ideas. The great Captain Olimar? This ticklish? The great Captain Olimar, his boss, who constantly annoyed him with his lecturing, his teasing, and his grumbling? His _annoying_ father figure, who he now knew could just sic a group of tickle-happy pikmin on if he pissed him off? Louie’s smirk couldn’t possibly be more villainous if he tried. 

_Good to know…_

A desperate hand waved from the fray and poor Olimar could barely get anything out through his fits of laughter. “LOUIE, GET THEM O-O-OFFF!” 

“What do you mean? You command them, you never have trouble.” 

_“LOUIE!”_

Louie, hysterically enough, still didn’t seem inclined on helping the helpless captain in the least bit, just watching on in amusement. Truly to him this felt like solid retribution after Olimar made him do the dishes before he was allowed back out to scavenge more ingredients. 

“You have a whistle!” His smirk deepened, as they both knew the poor Hocotation couldn't access it if he tried. He couldn’t even be seen, he was just… _consumed_ with pikmin. He wasn’t even sure if what came out of his mentor was a sentence, garbling off into a hiccup. 

Rolling his eyes lightly, Louie blew sharply on his whistle. In instant obedience, the pikmin scurried off their leader, prepared for orders. 

It took a moment for the poor father to be able to stand. Every nerve in his body felt like it was buzzing at once. The president of Hocotate Freight was getting a strongly worded complaint on how thin the material of these suits were! ...And zero context as to how he’d figured it out. 

Wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes, Olimar cleared his throat and glared playfully at the pikmin. “You little rascals are ruthless. You know we could have been eaten through this if anything heard me screaming?” he joked. Although probably not understanding him his pikmin seemed amused, tilting their little heads and their eyes crinkling up mischievously. 

“Yeah yeah, I scream like a little girl with a spider on her arm, now go in, get up there,” Olimar huffed playfully. The small group obeyed, but three certain little pikmin lagged behind. A red, a yellow, and a blue. _The instigators._

“And YOU three!” Olimar exclaimed. “Little masterminds. You know, you’re quite lucky I don’t give you the same treatment! Perhaps I should.” He smirked. “I am a scientist after all, and how could I call myself such if I didn’t test your OWN reaction to certain body stimulation?” 

The words were lost on the three pikmin but his action certainly wasn’t. The pikmin squealed in fear as they backpedaled a hand snatch, but the yellow one wasn’t quite so lucky. 

Olimar was absolutely delighted as the pikmin burst into immediate squealing giggles as his fingers fluttered softly along its belly. To his amusement, the other two seemed to be reaching for the same attention and Olimar laughed as he set them down. “Oh, how cute. I can’t wait to record that.” 

“For science?” Louie asked wryly and the captain flushed. 

"W-well, you know…” He crossed his arms and tried to maintain some air of professionalism. “I study all aspects of biology and write down my findings with the pikmin, no matter how trivial seeming…” He cleared his throat and looked nervously at his charge, who was….smirking at the onion, and then at him. 

Olimar side eyed him nervously. “And...what are you smiling about?” 

“Blackmail,” was all Louie said, before turning to go back to the ship. Olimar stopped dead in his tracks. 

He was too terrified to ask what that meant. 

**Author's Note:**

> Long time no see y’all! Been working on this on and off for two months when I’m sad! Ticklies have always been my favorite platonic bonding gesture and super fun to include in cute fics. Nobody needs some giggles and smiles more than Oli!
> 
> Lbr we all know Space Dad would be as wiggly and giggly as a worm if you so much as poked him in his pilsbury doughboy belly!
> 
> I may make a part two of perhaps Louie employing this new knowledge or maybe Olimar beating him to it lmao. Grump boi *does* need to smile...


End file.
